


A Familiar Situation

by Razra_Eizel (Eleana_Lee)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Aurors, Community: hp_creatures, Creature Fic, Familiars, Fluff, HP: EWE, M/M, Out of Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-19 07:03:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,726
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8194903
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleana_Lee/pseuds/Razra_Eizel
Summary: If he could, Draco would hide his Familiar forever. However, circumstances seemed to have other ideas





	

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** #[27](http://hp-creatures.livejournal.com/267482.html?thread=1475034#t1475034)
> 
>  **Creature:** something small/cute/fluffy (Familiar)
> 
>  **Warnings:** none really, aside from possible OOCness
> 
>  **Disclaimer:** This piece of fiction is based on characters and situations created and owned by J. K. Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros. Inc. No money is being made, no copyright or trademark infringement, or offense is intended. 
> 
> **A/N:** The prompt was fun to write, although I had a bit of a hard time writing it, for reasons unknown. I had to update it after my beta read it because we both agreed it lacked something, but this should read okay. And I’m still terrible at titles and summaries. Oh well.
> 
> Anyway, hope you enjoy it.

Draco stared hard at his Familiar. He knew that Familiars only found their Wizards or Witches when they were of age—the wizards or witches, not the Familiars. Familiars are practically immortal, and they stay in their chosen form, not growing or ageing. They would then disappear into thin air once their wizards or witches passed away, as there was no more magic energy they could feed on to stay corporeal.

At that moment, he was really, really thankful that he was already out of school when his Familiar found him. He couldn’t imagine the kind of mockery he would get if anyone ever saw his Familiar.

He would rather have the ground open up and swallow him whole than be caught walking around with his Familiar, but his Familiar just couldn’t leave him alone. He couldn’t even go down to the Muggle coffee shop down the block that he had grown attached to without his Familiar throwing a hissy fit if he didn’t take it along.

"You will be the death of me," he muttered as he kept his Familiar tucked in the folds of his robe and hidden away from sight. "At least I could still choose your name."

And it was at least a saving grace. Pansy asked what he named his Familiar, and he could proudly say Fenrir. He hated Greyback with a passion, and still do, but Madam Pomfrey had said that it might do him good if he could associate the name with something he could trust with his life, and no matter what, his Familiar would always put him first.

Although, looking at his Familiar, it wasn’t too reassuring…

"Mew."

"Shut up, Fenrir," Draco hissed as he pulled the collar of his robe up and tried to ignore the squirming bundle against his chest. "You wanted to come along, so be quiet."

An indignant meow came from his robes, and a furry white head poked out from the collar. Draco was quick to push the squirming bundle back down, and thanked his lucky stars that he managed to cast a silencing charm in time. The people around him were none the wiser, and he’d keep it that way as long as he could.

There was another indignant meow followed by a hiss as Fenrir tried to climb out of his hiding place again. Draco had tried making Fenrir invisible, but no spell could directly affect a Familiar. He was just lucky when he found out that a silencing charm cast around him could still affect Fenrir as long as he was within the radius of the charm.

"Fenrir, honestly!" Draco grumbled as he gave up, allowing Fenrir to poke his head out of the robe, but still trying his best to cover him up with his scarf. "If you don’t settle down, I’m not taking you out with me anymore."

The kitten pointedly ignored him, knowing it was just empty threats. The last time Draco left his Familiar at home by itself, Fenrir had unleashed chaos upon it as retaliation. Not even the ancient decorative vase he put at the top row of a shelf was safe. He had to spend three hours fixing everything, and decided that bringing Fenrir out with him was much less trouble.

Fenrir meowed excitedly when he caught sight of the local butchery, and Draco sighed as he walked into the store to get more meat for him.

After years of living under the Dark Lord’s rule, he was now living under a kitten’s rule.

How the mighty have fallen.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hey, Draco," Harry greeted as he walked over to Draco’s desk, a black leopard trailing behind him. "We’ve got an update on the Ramsey case. Someone saw many nondescript owls flying out of a warehouse and thought it could be an illegal potions ring, so we’re going to check this lead."

"Alright," Draco said. "What time do you think we should go? Do you want to go on a stake out first or are we striking as soon as we could?"

"It’s a bit reckless, but if he suspects that we’re closing in, he might move his base somewhere else and then we’re back to ground zero," Harry said with a sigh. "We’ll survey the place first, and see if there’s enough opening for us to strike."

"I suppose," Draco agreed. "Well then, I’ll drop by your place tonight and we’ll head off together."

"Sure," Harry agreed. "Come on, Lynx."

The leopard followed Harry off obediently, and Draco sighed, before peering into his robe and staring back at Fenrir who was looking at him defiantly.

Lynx was Harry’s Familiar. It found him while they were still in Hogwarts, and the leopard had caused quite a bit of scare before Professor McGonagall assured the students that it was a Familiar and therefore wouldn’t hurt anyone who wasn’t a threat to its wizard or witch.

"Why couldn’t you be cooler like Lynx?" Draco mused as he absentmindedly scratched Fenrir’s neck. "He’s elegant, strong, and obedient, much unlike you."

Fenrir bit his finger in protest.

"Ow, you ungrateful menace!"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"No, you’re staying home," Draco said as he put on his Auror robes. "It’s a dangerous mission, and I can’t keep an eye on you."

Fenrir meowed indignantly, but refused to be taken out of the robe pocket. Draco grabbed onto him with both hands, and he planted his claws in it, causing the robe to rip slightly.

"Ugh, Fenrir," Draco complained, "when are you going to listen to me?"

He had a suspicion that if Familiars could talk, Fenrir would say "never" without hesitation.

He settled Fenrir into his robe pocket and patted it softly. "Now stay put, or I really won’t take you next time. I’m not exaggerating when I say it’s a dangerous mission."

Fenrir looked at him as if he was stupid and Draco rolled his eyes. He Apparated into Harry’s apartment, and made himself comfortable on the sofa.

"Oh, hey," Harry peeked into the living room. "Ready to go?" he asked as he put on his Auror robes.

"I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t."

Harry chuckled. "Still snarky as usual, I see," he said. "Alright then, let’s do this. And remember, always watch my back."

"And there will come a day when you’re not an overprotective bastard."

"Not in the near future, though."

"I know."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"I wonder why they didn’t choose a normal-looking warehouse," Draco commented as soon as they arrived at the scene. "Does this not scream illegal?"

Harry inspected the run-down warehouse from the distance. "Maybe they don’t have money to lease a proper warehouse."

Draco scoffed. "Do you even know how much these illegal rings make? If I decided to start one, I could live in luxury for the rest of my life without touching the family money."

"I’m glad you didn’t," Harry said. "It would be awkward, having to bring you into custody."

"It wouldn’t be awkward, because there would be no ties between us," Draco replied, "aside from being former schoolmates, I suppose. Anyway, do you want to scout for a possible back entrance?"

"Let’s. Ramsey’s not stupid, he wouldn’t be seen coming in and out of this place. He could even have set up a Floo connection inside, although it would be risky too," Harry said.

"But he’s gotten too confident," Draco said. "He could have brought his potions somewhere secluded before sending off his owls. Why send them straight from the lab? He was confident he wouldn’t be found, so this is the best time to catch him. He’s lowered his guards."

"Wait," Harry said as he shook his head. "Just because he has lowered his guard doesn’t mean we should lower ours. I’m heading to the back first, and you’ll keep an eye on the main entrance. If you see anything suspicious, contact me, but don’t go in by yourself."

"I’m not a child."

"I’m not saying you are," Harry said. "Just be safe, okay?"

"I’ll try."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"What’s wrong with him?" Draco asked in worry as he hovered over Fenrir, who was sleeping on the examination table. Usually, whenever he went in to see a vet (a Familiar’s physical body is vulnerable to whatever ailments could affect their chosen animal form. However, if they die from an illness, they would just fade away for a while until their magic stabilised again and resumed a new corporeal form), he would bite and scratch and hiss, and just generally be a nightmare. There was only one vet who was insane enough to be Fenrir’s vet, and that was only because he had been the Malfoy family’s vet for years.

Although, Lucius’ peacock and Narcissa’s owl didn’t give him as much trouble as Fenrir did.

"Have you been dealing with powerful wizards, Mr. Malfoy?" the vet asked as he examined Fenrir.

"Why do you ask?" Draco asked back, frowning.

"He has been cursed," the vet said simply.

"I thought Familiars cannot be affected by magic," Draco pointed out.

"No, but they can take on curses meant for their wizards or witches," the vet said. "Simply put, Fenrir took the curse that hit you."

"What can I do now?" Draco asked, his worry returning full force, now accompanied with guilt.

"You have to take him to a Curse Breaker," the vet said. "One who has strong magic and has complete control over their magic, because breaking a curse on a living being is more complicated than cursed objects."

"And I don’t suppose you know a person like that?" Draco asked impatiently.

"Of course I do," the vet said indignantly. "We all do."

"Oh, no."

"Harry Potter."

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Draco took as much time as he could in making his way to his office. After the capture of Ramsey, he was forced to go on a mandatory leave by Kingsley and Harry was left to do all the paperwork himself.

It was unfair, because it wasn’t as if Draco was actively trying to get himself killed. It was just a risk associated with being an Auror, and he knew it was probably just Harry’s protectiveness rearing its head again.

"You’d agree with me, won’t you, Fenrir?" Draco asked as he patted the sleeping bundle in his robe pocket. The silence that followed was uncomfortable, and Draco sighed. "Or maybe not. For what it’s worth, I’m sorry I put you in this situation."

After they split ways at the warehouse, Draco stayed to watch the front entrance with Fenrir. Not long after Harry disappeared from sight, a nondescript barn owl left through one of the openings at the top that were used for ventilation.

"He’s inside," Draco said to himself. "Well, whether or not it’s Ramsey, it’s possibly someone operating an illegal ring. Let’s go and catch them."

Fenrir meowed in protest.

"I know, I’m sending him a Patronus," Draco said. "I’m not stupid, Fenrir."

Fenrir still meowed in protest, but he soon gave up and sulked quietly in Draco’s robe pocket, knowing that his wizard wouldn’t take no for an answer.

Draco felt the ward when he passed it, and knew that he had triggered it. However, it prevented Apparition, so he could only hope that even if their suspect escaped through the back entrance, Harry would be there to catch them.

The resulting fight nearly burned the warehouse down, but thankfully they managed to subdue Ramsey before it could come to that. Harry sent a Patronus to Kingsley to tell him of the situation, and to ask him to thank their source.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked worriedly as he approached Draco. "You were hit dead on with a curse, weren’t you?"

"I think so, but I feel fine," Draco said. "So, there’s no need to tell Kingsley about that, right?"

Harry rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but I already told him," he said, "and effective from now, you’re on mandatory leave, so you can reflect on what an idiot you were for barging in without checking for a ward and waiting for backup."

"But—"

"Go and reflect."

"Ugh, fine."

When Draco got home, he took Fenrir out of his pocket and found the kitten sleeping. It was unusual for the hyperactive kitten to sleep so early, but it was a tiring day, so Draco thought nothing of it. He only realised something was wrong when Fenrir didn’t wake up the next morning.

Draco found himself in front of the Ministry and sighed. "Well, here goes nothing…"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Hey," Harry greeted when he saw Draco walk into their shared office. "I thought you’re still on mandatory leave. Shouldn’t you be taking that time to reflect on your stupidity instead of coming in to the office?"

"Shut up," Draco replied petulantly. He mentally debated whether this was really a good idea, but then decided that Fenrir’s plight was his fault, so he should take responsibility and take care of his Familiar. "Um, I heard you can help break curses from living beings."

Harry’s grin dropped from his face. "Who got cursed?"

"Fenrir."

"Greyback?" Harry asked in confusion.

"No, my Familiar."

"Oh," Harry said. "Well, let’s see him, um, it’s a him, right?"

"Yes, it’s a him," Draco said as he rolled his eyes. He hesitated for a while longer, before finally taking Fenrir out from his coat pocket and placing him gently down on Harry’s desk.

Harry’s eyes nearly popped out of his sockets.

"I suppose I should be surprised you named him Fenrir, but I’m not really," Harry said as he inspected the sleeping kitten. "So you say he’s been cursed?"

"Yeah," Draco said as he reached down to pet Fenrir. "Is there anything you can do?"

Harry stared down at the kitten, then pulled out his wand and hit Draco upside the head with it.

"Ow! Barbarian! What was that for!?"

"I told you to stay behind me!" Harry growled. "This is what happens when you don’t listen!"

Draco scowled but didn’t say anything in reply. He knew Harry knew that the only way for Fenrir to be cursed was if he took the curse meant for Draco.

Harry sighed. "I knew it was too good to be true when that spell didn’t affect you," he said. "Hm, alright then. Leave him with me, and I’ll let you know when I’ve broken the curse."

"I—"

"He’ll be fine," Harry said. "It’s not a lethal curse. It’s just a bit complicated to remove a curse from a Familiar."

"Are you sure you could, then?" Draco asked as he frowned.

"Of course I can," Harry said. "I was a Curse Breaker, remember?"

He waved with his right hand, and Lynx walked up from its hiding spot at the corner and jumped up onto the table.

"Oh, hello there, Lynx. I didn’t notice you," Draco greeted as he stroked the leopard’s fur.

Lynx purred and bent down to groom Fenrir.

"Just trust me," Harry said. "Lynx will help stabilise and amplify my magic. I assure you, Fenrir is in good hands."

"Very well, then. I’ll return in an hour."

"Get some of his favourite foods. He will want them when he wakes up."

Usually, Draco would grumble, but he didn’t this time. He owed it to Fenrir for saving him, after all, so running an errand for the kitten wasn’t a hardship at all.

He paused in front of the door, and listened to Harry speaking to Fenrir.

"Good boy, Fenrir," he heard. "You did a great job protecting your master. You should be proud, and I’m sure he’s proud of you too."

Draco smiled. He shouldn’t have worried at all.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"You seem to be eating a lot of red meat, young one," the shopkeeper of the butchery commented as she packed the steaks and sausages.

Draco coughed to further hide the delighted meowing coming from his coat pocket. "It’s for my pet lion."

"Is that what you young ones call your Gryffindor boyfriends now?"

* * *

**End of Story**

* * *

**END NOTES**  


Phew, that’s finally done. I had wanted to just write a short ficlet documenting Draco’s horror at showing his Familiar to anyone at all, but I felt like I had to give a bit of a back story to it, haha.

I had wanted to add a bit more to the ending scene, but couldn’t find a good point to end it properly, so I deleted the extra bit and hope this works better.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are love. Please comment here or on [livejournal](http://hp-creatures.livejournal.com/274551.html) for the author to see. Author will remain anonymous until reveals later this month!


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